


Worth the Pride

by FireFly18



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Anxiety, Comforting, Dealing with anxiety, Eddsworld - Freeform, Mentions of Sexual Assault, Other, Panic Attacks, Violence, but we love him, honestly what were we expecting lol, in which Tom is an idiot, okay yeah there's definitely violence but it's not like super descriptive, trying to be slow burn but I know it won't really be, yeah tord is an asshole in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2020-08-23 22:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20246887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireFly18/pseuds/FireFly18
Summary: I've dug myself into a hole and I'm NEVER GETTING OUT apparently.Tom's always been a mystery to his friends and those that know him, closing himself off and playing aloof and underwhelmed by everything. Maybe something will change all this...It's stupid, but I love Eddsworld and I really have a craving to write things so here we are!





	1. Chapter 1

Skilled fingers strummed over recently tuned bass strings, the vibrations echoing through the air around him as music flowed through the air. This was the melody of life to him, playing on his base; so dubbed "Susan". He never left without making sure she was either secured in her case or strapped to his back. She was his oldest and most dear possession, and he cared for her more than anything or anyone else in his life, that is, until recently. He knew it was how most crappy fanfiction started, with everything changing when a special person walked into his life, but it wasn't like that. That is, it wasn't all at once, this "crush". He cringed at the thought, pausing his playing for a moment as he lowered Susan. They had always been there it seemed, they just melded in with the group of them so easily. There was never a moment they didn't seem to fit, and they were open to any kind of activity with them. He had tried at first, to find something wrong with them, something to push them out, and he was ashamed to admit to himself that he tried so damn hard to find something that was never there. He just didn't enjoy change, and he tried to stop it, but it didn't work. He looked to the wall, where just last week he had hung up a picture of the four of them. Maybe it was good for him that it didn't work. He felt a smile crawling up his face and he shifted on his bed as he began strumming again, something softer this time, something gentler, something for them, for his thoughts, and for the newest addition to his wall. He lost himself in the music, in the beat that his mind created fluidly, without planning and without reason other than to play for them. When he finished he looked up, and was slightly startled to find them standing in the doorway, an almost dream-like expression on their face.

"That was beautiful." their voice was soft, perhaps surprised, maybe entranced? He wasn't sure.

"Thanks." 'It was for you.' His voice caught in his throat when he almost spoke those words and he set Susan to the side. "Did you need something?" he asked as he stood, pushing his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt as he walked over to the door. They shook their head with a smile.

"You know me, I heard the music and I had to listen." they chuckled, hunching over slightly as they did. The corner of his lips ticked up some as he watched. They never laughed standing straight up, almost as if they preferred to hunch over just a bit. They had always claimed these small movements as defense mechanisms, just as the constant laughter and smile was, he knew, but they never said. "I know Matt said that dinner would be ready soon, but I don't think it's ready just yet." they looked up, their ever-present smile still there. Tom laughed.

"Is he cooking?" he asked, ticking an eyebrow up.

"Yeah, Edd is helping though." they looked over their shoulder to look towards the kitchen.

"And the kitchen isn't on fire? That's progress." he said as he leaned against the wall. _____ laughed at that, more real laughter as their head fell forward, their shoulders shaking.

"Indeed it is." they said after a moment, straightening up some as they turned. "Should we go make sure it stays that way?" they asked. He nodded and followed them out. As they walked the voices of their friends became louder.

"Edd! Let me stir! I'm the one cooking here!"

"You're going to burn it! Just let me turn the temperature down."

"It's almost done! Just let it be!" The two remaining friends appeared to be at a standstill, both trying to push the other out of the way to "correct" what was going on. _____ laughed at the sight of them both and turned to Tom.

"I'd say this is business as usual, huh?" they asked. Tom sighed and nodded. He then looked up to them both.

"Hey!" he raised his voice, looking a little agitated from the noise. The two stopped their fighting and looked over to Tom. "Can you both just behave for two minutes?" he asked as he walked further into the kitchen. "You got this far without ruining the meal, don't fuck it up now." 

"Sorry, Tom." both boys said in unison before separating. _____ smiled and shook their head as they walked further into the kitchen to stand next to Tom. The blue-clad male sighed once more, turning to look at them.

"Bloody idiots, am I right?" he asked. _____ smiled slightly.

"I wouldn't go that far, but yeah." they chuckled, leaning against the table some as they watched. 

"I'll get the bowls, did you want to get the silverware?" Tom asked as he walked over to the cabinets. _____ nodded in response and went over to the silverware drawer. Matt turned off the heat to the stove and he grinned triumphantly.

"Done!" He called out to the three. Edd winced, as he was still standing right next to him.

"Yes, I can see that." he said. "I'll get us all some drinks." Tom set the bowls down next to the stove and he looked over to _____. They were chatting with their friends, bringing the silverware over to the table, but they just looked lovely, and he couldn't explain why. He found himself lost in his thoughts until Edd snapped in his face and he jolted backward, grabbing the counter as he did so.

"What the hell?!" he snapped, glaring at Edd, who had done the snapping.

"We couldn't get your attention, is everything alright?" he asked. Tom looked up and saw both Matt and _____ looking at him with some level of concern. 

"I'm fine," Tom grumbled, shoving his hands in his sweatshirt pocket.

"You're drinking enough water, right?" _____ asked as they walked over. "Don't want you to get dehydrated." they offered a smile to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, like I said," Tom said looking off to the side. Matt blinked and looked at Tom. 

"You're looking a little flustered there, Tom." he said, a bright grin on his face. Tom's head whipped over to Matt, glaring at him. _____ held their hands up and stepped between them.

"Hold on, come on, Tom, let's eat, he didn't say anything wrong." they said. Tom grumbled and nodded, relenting as he went to the fridge, pulling out a Smirnoff before he went to sit at the table. Edd shrugged and dished out the food for everyone.

Dinner was eaten with barely a word from Tom, but there was chatter from the other three at the table. Stupid. He was being stupid. No one said anything wrong, he was just being an arse about it. They were having fun and he was being a jerk about absolutely nothing. He took a gulp from the Smirnoff and set the bottle down after a minute, looking at the bottle before looking back up to everyone, watching them chat about the day. He sighed and stood, having picked at a good percentage of his food.

"I'll be in my room." he said taking the bottle with him to his room before he shut the door. _____ frowned quietly and they looked to the hallway where he vanished.

"I wonder what's up his bum." Matt mused as he continued to eat. "Normally he at least eats everything on his plate." he shrugged. _____ then stood and walked over to his bowl and picked it up, going to put the leftovers in a container for him.

"Maybe he'll want it later." they mumbled to themself as they went to put the container in the fridge.

Tom ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He hated making _____ upset, but sometimes he couldn't control his anger, embarrassment-. He threw his arms out and fell back on his bed. Emotions. He hated them. He could hide emotions when he needed to, at least, he used to be able to do that. Now he felt like he just came off like a fucking jerk. He didn't want them to think of him like that at least. He turned on his side with a sigh, lazily kicking off his socks as he resolved to just lay there. Maybe he could sleep it off and be more presentable tomorrow. Or he could just close his eyes and rest, then he could join the others.

A knock on the door jolted Tom awake and he looked around. It was dark out, and the knock came again, almost softer this time. Tom grumbled and he got up. So much for joining everyone. He walked over to the door and he reached to turn the handle before he heard footsteps walking away. He frowned and opened the door, looking out into the hallway to see the door to _____'s room closing. He frowned in confusion and he pushed the door open further. He stepped out into the hallway and walked over to the bedroom in question. He reached for the doorknob and he frowned. What was he doing? He had no reason to be... well, maybe he could just ask what was wrong. He stood up straighter and he knocked on the door quietly. There was a moment of silence and he almost turned before the door slowly opened up. He pushed the door open the rest of the way and he stepped in. _____ looked up to him but kept their head lowered.

"Hey." they said softly as they stepped aside. He saw the way their fingers trembled on the door, the strain in their smile.

"What's up?" Tom asked, changing his stance as he stepped further into the room and shut the door to one that was more casual, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. They were quiet for another moment, their hands wringing the edge of their shirt. 

"It um..." they let out a quiet laugh. "It's stupid, but I had a really um..." Tom raised an eyebrow and he cocked his head to the side.

"A bad dream?" he asked. If it were anyone else, he would tell them to get over it, but... they looked so small, standing in front of him. Their hair was rumpled and messy and stuck out a little bit, and they looked... Tom reached over to them, carefully brushing his thumb across their cheek. It came back wet and his shoulders slumped. "Did you want to talk about it?" he asked. They shook their head quietly, hugging their arms around themself. "Can I help? You came to me for some reason." he said, almost hesitating in his words. They came to him first, not Edd, not Matt, him. 

"I um... this is really stu-"

"Can you stop with the stupid stuff?" Tom asked, frowning when they winced. Maybe his voice had gotten a tad loud. "You're putting yourself down a lot, was it that kind of dream?" he asked, a bit gentler this time. They nodded silently, their face low, looking toward the floor. "So how can I help?" Tom asked looking to them, genuine concern lacing his features. His expression was soft, warm, and after a moment, _____ stepped forward and hugged him tightly, burying their face in his sweatshirt. Tom was surprised by the sudden action, but he wrapped his arms around their trembling body. It was hardly ever that they showed this kind of weakness, and he had found that they only showed this around him. He had no time to feel smug that they shared something with him and not the other two, though, this wasn't exactly the right time. He remained silent,  
rubbing small circles into their lower back in an effort to soothe them. Talking wouldn't help anything right then, he figured.

They both stayed like that for a minute or two, maybe a few, Tom couldn't tell how much time had passed, but their sniffles had long subsided, and he just listened to them breathe, trying to even his own so maybe it would help them match the speed. They pulled away first, but it was slow, their head down still. "Sorry." they said softly, almost a whisper. Despite himself, Tom grimaced.

"You don't need to apologize." he said simply, there was no need to repremand, that wasn't what they needed. He only watched as they lifted their head to finally look at him, and he almost hugged them again. Their eyes were rimmed with red, their face blotchy from the tears. "It's me, right?" Tom continued, trying to sound casual as he offered them a smile. "You don't need to worry about it." They nodded, offering a smile in return.

"Thank you." they said. It was genuine, he always knew it was no matter how many times they thanked someone, anyone, it was genuine. He shrugged still, not wanting them to worry.

"Really, it's fine." he said simply. "Now, can you get back to sleep?" he asked. They lifted their head a bit further and opened their mouth ever so slightly, but then closed it and nodded.

"Yeah, I think I can. Thank you again, Tom." they said with a smile. Tom was still for a moment, internally debating whether or not to ask what they were about to say, but in the end, decided against it. 

"You're welcome, goodnight." he stepped out of the room, giving them one last smile before he shut the door and began heading back to his own room. On the way, he felt conflicted. Were they going to say something? Or was his lizard brain just making it up to confuse him over something completely unnecessary? He would never know. He let his shoulders slump as he reached his room and stepped inside. He walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge of it, buried in his own thoughts.  
There were a lot of reasons why he could have stayed, but he didn't want to ruin the trust or the friendship they had, and even though _____ made an effort to let them all know they were comfortable with closeness and affection no matter the reason, he still felt like he was... intruding, if he were to offer to stay with them for the rest of the night. Maybe it was pride? He shook his head. No, all his pride went out the window the moment he realized that he had feelings for them and was able to admit it to himself. He lay back on his bed. Maybe he would feel better in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

That was incorrect.

The birds were chirping, fairy tale music was playing in the distance as the world woke up, sunshine streamed into the room and onto his bloody fucking eyesockets, and Tom swore on that day he would find a way to murder the sun. 

He pulled himself up in an almost zombie-like fashion, feeling like he could melt into the bed. He never liked the morning, so why on earth had he thought he would feel better about anything that happened the previous night?! He could still feel his thoughts swimming through his brain and he felt like cracking his skull open just so he could rip his own brain out. 

He sighed. It was fine, everything was fine. All he needed was some coffee, perhaps a spiked cup. He chuckled to himself, finding that thought amusing as he pulled himself from his bed and exited his bedroom. He walked over to the bathroom and opened the door so he could brush his teeth before heading into the kitchen. He could already hear someone moving about but pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he closed the bathroom door and grabbed his toothbrush. He stared at himself in almost a dead trance as he scrubbed his teeth with the minty paste and the bristles. He spit the toothpaste out and rinsed the toothbrush off before he set it aside. He blinked slowly and yawned, scratching his sides and lower back as he opened the bathroom door once more before heading into the kitchen. 

He was still tired, that much was certain, but he couldn't help smiling when he saw the very person that danced on his thoughts sitting at the counter, nursing a steaming cup of coffee. They hadn't slept well, their face was paler and their eyes were puffy, but maybe that was because they cried the previous night. Regardless, when they saw him, a warm smile replaced the vacant expression from just moments before. "Good morning," they said, their voice a tired hum as they straightened up in the seat. "Did you sleep okay?" they asked. 

Tom shrugged as he walked over to the coffee pot. "Eh," he replied, deciding to tell the truth. He grabbed a mug and filled it up with fresh coffee. They had made a full pot. Ah, he could kiss...

He paused. Maybe that wasn't the best line of thought. Instead, he turned around to face them once he finished. "What about you?" he asked. "Did you get any sleep?" 

They shook their head, but then shrugged. "Not much, lots of tossing and turning," Tom nodded slightly with a frown. He had hoped they would have gotten more sleep than that. "It's alright, though," they said quickly, noticing Tom's frown. "Really, it's fine." they offered a smile. "I'll go to bed early tonight."

"That sounds like a good idea,"

They looked up to him with a small smile. "I'm surprised you're up, I didn't think you'd be up before everyone else," 

Tom laughed at the statement. "Honestly I am too, you'd think at least Matt would be-"

"Morning!" 

The front door opened with a sharp thud as Matt stepped into the house, fully dressed, bright eyes and grinning face, holding two bags of pastries. Both Tom and _____ looked over to him in slightly stunned silence.

"Wow, um, I didn't expect you to be out and about so early," _____ said as they got up from their chair. "When did you go out?" Tom grumbled into his coffee, barely noticing the scalding temperature. He had finally gotten some time to just talk with _____ and here Matt was, just inserting himself... He blinked and hissed in pain and he pulled the mug away from his mouth, trying to discreetly cool the burn on his tongue. God fucking... He looked up, noticing the conversation was still going on.

"... and I thought, 'well, may as well get us all some breakfast!'" Matt grinned as he set the bags down. 

_____ chuckled lightly and they walked over. "Does Edd need any help?" they asked. Tom blinked. Edd? Then the green sweatshirt-clad man in question stepped through the door with two drink holders and the car keys in his mouth. Tom grit his teeth. Of course. He wondered why it was so quiet. Edd said a muffled 'hello!' before spitting the keys onto the floor, stepping over them and bringing the drinks to the counter. _____ blinked in slight confusion. "Why do you have so many drinks? There's only four of us." 

Edd grinned widely. "Why not?" he asked as he shrugged nonchalantly, pushing the drinks forward towards them. "Come on now, let's have a good morning and enjoy breakfast!" he grabbed his own drink, a coke, of course, and began slurping eagerly. _____ laughed lightly and grabbed a drink for themself. They thanked Edd and Matt for the breakfast and drinks before they started drinking from the cup. Tom couldn't help but smile slightly as he picked up one of the cups, not wanting to be rude, at least not then. _____ was happy, and he didn't want to ruin that by being a bastard. He sipped and leaned against the counter, watching his friends talking and enjoying themselves. He found himself just lost in thought for the time being, but he didn't want to be caught daydreaming, so he turned back into the conversation.

"... and he's coming back into town today, which is awesome!" Edd grinned happily as he took a sip of his drink. Tom raised an eyebrow. What? Who was coming?

"Okay, and he lived with you guys for a while?" _____ asked as they picked up one of the biscuits that Matt had gotten. "Why did he leave?" Tom frowned in confusion, but that confusion dissipated and quickly turned to annoyance when Edd spoke next. 

"Oh yeah, Tord was a real part of the family!" Edd grinned and he went to sit down. "He left rather suddenly too, I wonder what made him leave." Matt looked over and his face twisted in confusion.

"What? Who?" he asked. "Why don't I remember him?" Edd shook his head and smiled at him.

"Right before he left you shot a laser at yourself, I think it messed with your memory." Edd shrugged before turning back to _____. "He said he would be here sometime later today, so we should give him a warm welcome." 

_____ nodded with a light smile. "Okay," they chuckled lightly, "I hope he likes me." Tom scowled at the statement and then shook his head. What right did he have to react like that? It wasn't like they were dating him. He instead shoved his hands in his pockets, drowning his grumbles in his drink. When he looked back up again he was surprised to find them looking at him with an... odd look on their face, but once they locked eyes they looked back to the biscuit in their hand. Tom blinked. What? What was that about? He shook his head and decided to step over so he could join the conversation. He didn't want to seem like a jerk, even if he wasn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of Tord returning into their lives.

***

Here he was again, sitting in his room, strumming Susan's strings as he forced himself to get lost in the music as he had done before. He felt his brow furrow and he closed his eyes, trying to find the melody his fingers wanted to follow. He paused, started up again, played, and his fingers slipped when he saw their face in his mind. "Shit," he muttered, shaking his head before he continued playing. He wanted... what the hell did he even want anymore? He stopped and his shoulders slumped, resting Susan on his lap. He shook his head and looked up, jolting slightly when he saw them standing in his doorway again. "Holy shit, _____." his heart was pounding. "Please alert your presence." 

They smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of their neck. "Sorry, I wanted to hear the music, why did you stop?" they asked. Tom frowned slightly as his brain fought to find an answer to that. He couldn't exactly say why he stopped just like that. So instead, he shrugged.

"Wasn't feeling it today," he said as he stood up so he could return Susan to her resting place. _____ nodded slightly in understanding and offered him a smile. "What's up?" he asked, looking over to them, wondering if there was something else that they needed. They reached up, fiddling with the neckline of their shirt.

"Well, honestly I was wondering if you were alright, you seemed put off earlier." Tom paused and he shifted in his place before turning to face them.

"I'm fine, just wondering why Tord is coming back after so long, I mean he was gone long before you arrived, and it just seems weird that he's returning now." he shook his head. "I guess I just don't know how he's changed, and I didn't want to be an arse, but I didn't know how to react to the news." He walked over to them. "Should we go out? See what the other two are up to?" they nodded and stepped aside for Tom to walk out of the room. He did so and headed to the living room. They always seemed to be there whenever he started playing, and to be honest he wasn't exactly complaining. He just wished that they wouldn't surprise him by just appearing.

_____ smiled as they walked into the living room, happy to join the other two, and happy that Tom was going to join them this time instead of just being in his room. At least, they seemed happy to Tom, which honestly was enough to make him smile just a bit, enough to make him okay with joining them and working on improving his mood. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. He wasn't the biggest fan of Tord, but who knows, it's been years, he could have changed, grown up? He should give him a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, now that I have 5000 stories floating through my head will I make progress on any of them? Survey says: possibly! Haha! Sorry about the long wait guys, I'm hoping to be able to write a bit more for each of my stories.


	3. Chapter 3

Edd told them that Tord would be coming either later that day or the next, and even though Tom wanted to make this whole thing just something to push aside, he couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy at the prospect of him returning. Somehow, Tord had always just rubbed him the wrong way, there was something about him that was just... off, and he couldn't place exactly why. _____ seemed excited, though, to meet someone new, and he would be damned if he rained on their parade. He would simply need to relax himself and his expectations, perhaps he had changed over the years, and he would surprise him. There was always that chance. 

He sat in the living room for now, staring at the program on the screen in front of him. His mind had wandered in his own thoughts for the time being, and he figured he should get up to at least eat something. As he did, though, there was a knock on the door, and by the way Edd ran over, he knew it was Tord. Indeed, he was right, and when the door opened Edd called Tord's name and embraced him, a bit tighter than Tord had expected, given his face when Tom turned around. He looked... the same, albeit taller and a bit matured in looks, he supposed. His hair had gotten longer and his eyes were sharper, analyzing everything, or maybe that was his own prejudices. He needed a drink, or... maybe something else? He wasn't sure, but he felt immediately put off by his presence. It seemed he wasn't the only one to think that, which surprised him. He looked over to see _____ at the entryway to the kitchen, as if they had been walking in to see what the commotion was, but their face was tense, shoulders and back stiff as one hand held the entryway. Their expression, their smile, seemed like it was trying to reach their eyes, but couldn't. Ah, fuck maybe he was reading too much into this, they had been shy when they met the three of them, maybe that was it. Something felt different, though, something he couldn't shake. 

Edd gleefully introduced Tord to _____, and they held their hand out to shake Tord's in greeting. But then, Tord took their hand and raised it to his fucking lips. Oh. Oh hell to the fucking bloody no. Blood roared past his ears, and that seemed to clear them so he could hear the conversation it seemed, as Tord's voice came in, smooth as a snake.

"... my absolute pleasure to meet such a beautiful wo-"

"I actually use gender-neutral pronouns," _____ cut him off, and spoke respectfully, but firmly, their expression still pleasant. Tord paused, but then he smiled and straightened himself up.

"Of course, my apologies," he said, well, at least he seemed to be respectful of that, which was a singular point in his favour. Tom was still steaming, though. He didn't like how he immediately went for such an... odd, well, maybe it wasn't odd for him, but it was still creepy as hell! Then that unfortunately familiar face turned to Tom, and a grin spread across that face. "Tom! My old friend!" he cheered as he clapped a hand on his shoulder. Tom winced and he frowned.

"Uh, yeah," he muttered as he tried for a smile. He would give an effort dammit, especially when he was trying to be cordial for _____'s sake. He hadn't ever been close to Tord, though, so that was a confusing greeting. "How've you been?" he asked, he supposed that he should go for the friendly approach. 

Tord seemed delighted to receive such a response from him. "I've been well, lots of travelling, plenty of connections, and I've become rather successful throughout the years," he turned, shooting a wink to _____ before looking back to Tom. "How've you been spending your time?" he asked. Tom's mouth pressed into a straight line before he spoke.

"I've been steady, keeping up with work," he said flatly, reaching to grab one of the bottles of alcohol on the table, opening it and taking a swig. He would definitely need a drink today if that was going to be the tone of this. Tord just nodded, and said something else quickly before he turned back to the other two. Matt seemed confused about who Tord was still, but happy to be meeting someone new. Tom just took the bottle in his hand and headed out of the kitchen where they had converged. He felt a headache coming on.

Tord settled himself into the group as if he had never left, and more annoyingly, as if Tom didn't exist. He didn't exactly know what the reason for that was, but he suspected it had something to do with his previous decision to not take any bullshit from their friend. That seemed to annoy Tord more than he was willing to express, and Tom was fine with that. What he was not fine with, was the way he seemed to be encroaching on _____'s space, making them uncomfortable, but not so much so that they would say anything. He wanted to say something, but he knew full well that _____ never wanted anyone to babysit them, and didn't want to be a burden, they had made that much clear early on in their friendship, but it still... well, it hurt him to see this happening. Occasionally, he would shoot looks at Tord, waiting until he made eye contact with the red-clad man before he would let it go. He could make empty eyesockets look rather intimidating.

To be honest, the rest of the day was surprisingly uneventful, save for Tord being generally annoying and boastful. It wasn't of any real note, and Tom honestly found himself disassociating the day away. It wasn't until the evening when he was jolted back into the present by the topic of sleeping arrangements.

"Well, we don't want you to have to sleep out here, after all, you're our friend!" Edd clapped Tord on the back as he spoke, grinning at him. "But when _____ moved in, they took the guest room, hm." he hummed in thought, and Tord raised an eyebrow before he let a lazy smirk find its way onto his face. 

"I suppose I could just sleep in there with _____, I'm sure-!"

"No!" Tom spoke before he could even register the thought completely and he slammed his mouth shut when everyone looked at him. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat, trying to look nonchalant once more. "I mean, I don't want to crowd _____, that room is the smaller one. They can take my room, I'll sleep on the floor, or the couch." he took a swig of his drink, keeping his gaze solidly on his feet, suddenly rather interested in the laces of his shoes. Why had he put on shoes?

"Well that's fine then!" Matt chimed in with a grin. "It works out perfectly then!" Tom was grateful for Matt's cheerful nature then. The conversation continued from there, but Tom tuned it out. He was definitely just... beyond embarrassed that he actually blurted that out. He finally looked up and found _____ looking at him in return. Their expression was unreadable, but they didn't seem upset, which he was happy about. When he turned his head a bit, he saw that Tord was looking over to him as well, and his expression was unsettling, but he couldn't place why. He looked to his drink once more, and found that it was empty. Damn, when did he finish that? He got up to put the bottle in their little recycling bin. He walked to the fridge to get another one, but stopped. Maybe... he shouldn't get another one. Even if he wanted to just tune Tord out completely, he shouldn't really be doing this, it always worried _____, even if they didn't say as much directly. The way they looked after him and checked up on him made that pretty clear. He returned to the living room, and saw _____'s shoulders relax slightly once they heard him enter. That sealed it. He needed to be alert for _____, at least a little bit. He didn't want to just keep himself in the haze of darkness for his own sake.

Not much time passed before it was decided that they should all head to bed. It certainly had been a riveting day, after all. Tom pulled himself up from the couch and made his way to the bathroom. If he was going to sleep on the couch he needed to at least feel like a human before he went to sleep. He went through the whole process, brushing his teeth, washing his face off, and then he made his way back to the living room so he could attempt to make himself comfortable. The commotion from the others died off after several more minutes and he finally was able to close his eyes. He found himself to be actually rather exhausted, maybe he would get some sleep after all. But that thought was broken away when he felt a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him. He grumbled something about murder with a throw pillow, but when he opened his eyes he was surprised to see _____ standing over him. "_____?" he asked sitting up more, "What's up?" 

They offered a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of their neck. "Well, I feel bad making you sleep on the couch, and I know that sleeping on the floor isn't exactly... better, but that's fine if you'd be in a bedroom?" they fiddled with the short hairs on the nape of their neck. "I don't know, that probably seems weird, I just feel bad kicking you out of your own room." Tom knew his cheeks were probably pink, but honestly, he didn't care. It was... something. 

"No, that's... that's fine, thanks, are you sure it's okay?" he asked as he stood up. _____ nodded and smiled at him before they turned and walked to Tom's bedroom. Honestly, it was everything that Tom had thought about wanting, but not exactly how he had imagined it, but that was okay. This was okay. He didn't want to do anything that they weren't comfortable with, so if this made them more comfortable, or not feel guilty, then he was okay with that. When he stepped into his room, He saw a little bed of pillows and blankets on the ground. He smiled, but then was a bit surprised when they sat on the bunch of blankets and pillows on the floor. "What are you doing?" Tom asked. _____ looked up to him, equally confused. 

"It's your room, right?" they said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm fine on the floor." 

Tom blinked and then shook his head. "No, no, you're the one being displaced, get in the bed," he said pointing to the bed. Again, that's not the situation he imagined saying that statement, but he shook that off quickly. 

They flushed when he spoke, but got up. "Are you sure?" they asked. Tom nodded definitively in response and he sat himself on the nest of blankets and pillows to solidify his decision. They stood still for a moment before nodding and pulling back the covers of the bed, getting underneath them. He got underneath the blankets, holy shit these were soft, and got himself comfortable. This was a lot better than the couch, even if he was lying on the ground. The pillows more than made up for the fact he was on the floor. There was silence for a few moments before _____ spoke.

"Thank you," they said softly. Well, that wasn't what he was expecting, but that was fine, it was he that should be thanking them, and he said as such.

"I should be thanking you," he chuckled lightly as he shifted to look to the bed, not surprised to see them looking over the side to him. "Really, these are comfortable as hell, I'll need to invest in some," he chuckled, and earned one in return. They smiled to him, incredibly gentle and warm, and he felt his heart flutter in his chest.

"I'm glad you like them," they said finally, "Goodnight, Tom," their voice was softer now, and they sounded tired for sure. Tom smiled gently in return.

"Goodnight, _____,"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is definitely a short chapter and I apologize for that, I just wanted to get something out for this work since it's been so long!
> 
> EDIT: I added a bit more :D

Tom was confused when he woke up, he was surrounded by blankets and pillows and he was incredibly comfortable. He was in his room, but not in his bed. He blinked a few times, and then he remembered when he turned and saw _____, curled up under the comforter on his bed. Their face was pressed into the pillow, absolutely dead asleep. He smiled and couldn't help the soft chuckle that came out and he sat up. They definitely looked cute. He then flushed and looked down, ah. Fuck. He needed... a cold shower, yup. He got up, trying to stay as quiet as he possibly could. He didn't want to wake them, didn't want to ever have them see him like this when they've slept in the same room. He wasn't that kind of guy and didn't want to be. He quickly and quietly left the room, shutting the door behind him silently before racing to the bathroom, where he was blocked by a certain unfortunate new housemate. 

"Good morning, Tom," Tord spoke cooly, with a smirk that seemed to cut right through him. 

Tom sighed heavily in response and glared at the man before him, wishing he would move. "Morning, Tord. Could you move? I need to get in there." 

"Yes I can see," Tord said as his smirk widened. "What's wrong? A little problem come over you?" Tom's glare darkened. 

"You want to clarify that?" Tom asked. Tord simply shrugged and stepped aside from the bathroom door. 

"No, no, nothing here, it's just curious," 

Tom said nothing in response as Tord walked away, and he chose to just go into the bathroom. Well. He didn't exactly have much of an issue anymore. Tord certainly had a way of taking care of that, which he could almost thank him for. He decided to take a shower anyhow, may as well, right? He stepped into the bathroom and shut the door, flicking the light on and turning toward the mirror. Fuck he looked tired. He leaned forward on the counter, his head dropping as he sighed heavily. He knew he shouldn't let Tord get to him. He'd be damned if he let that bloody idiot change how he felt. He shook his head and straightened up, rolling his shoulders before pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it to the side. He heard the doorknob turning and turned around only to be looking at _____. His eyes widened slightly at the flush that raced across their cheeks. They looked up at his face now and that flush only deepened.

"Ah- I- fuck, sorry, didn't realize... um..." 

"No, no!" Tom quickly said, holding his hands up. "It's fine, mistakes happen, yeah?" he offered a smile to his clearly embarrassed cr- friend. They nodded and offered a smile in return before they straightened up quickly.

"Fuck! I'm still standing here, sorry, go on with your shower, I'll just chill until you're done," they said quickly before closing the door. Tom could have sworn they said something after the door was closed, but it was quiet enough that he couldn't make it out. He walked over to the door and opened it, but the door to his bedroom was already closing. They were fast, certainly. He sighed, and a slight smile spread over his face, but it quickly fell when he caught Tord smirking in his direction. He scowled and shut the bathroom door once more. Well, now his shower was certainly going to be less than pleasant.

**********

"... classic, stupid Tom!" Tom paused as he stepped into the living room, where... suddenly the couch and the chairs were gone. Tord was laughing, nearly doubled over as the rest of his friends were looking at him in confusion.

"... What?" Tom asked, and Tord looked over at him, his grin widening just a hair. 

"Don't play dumb on us, remember? This morning you sold the couch and chairs to a gang of pirates!" Tord laughed as he walked over, clapping him on the back rather roughly. Tom jolted forward a bit and looked at him incredulously. He... he had absolutely no memory of that, he had been in his room until his shower. 

"Um, Tord? Tom was with me this morning." _____ said as they crossed their arms over their chest. Tord raised an eyebrow and he smirked. 

"Come on, silly _____, you don't have to cover for him. Besides, I've got a solution." Tord grinned as he pulled out a couple small cubes and he tossed it into the living room. As soon as it landed on the floor it opened up into a huge luxury couch with a lamp, cupholders, a tray for food, a recliner portion, and pillows. 

"Woo! Nice, Tord!" Edd grinned as he walked over to the new couch. Matt cheered and did the same, happily going over with him. Tom frowned, snatching another one of those cubes from Tord's hand. 

"What is this...?" he asked as he looked over the metallic cube.

Tord grinned and he pulled out a remote from his pocket. "Oh, just something I invented," He pressed the button and the box began beeping before it rapidly turned into a chair, falling on Tom and causing both to hit the ground.

"Tom!" _____ exclaimed as they ran over, hoisting the chair up so he could get out from under it. Tord began laughing and tossed the remote aside, and the other two joined in. "Are you okay?" _____ asked as they helped Tom up.

"Yeah," Tom grunted, glaring over at Tord as he straightened himself out. Luckily the chair wasn't too heavy. "So," he began, getting everyone's attention, "When are you leaving again?" he asked curtly. 

Tord blinked in surprise and he scoffed. "Leaving?! I'm moving back in!" he grinned. Tom made a face as he looked at the red-clad man before him. 

"What?" he asked before turning to look at Edd accusingly. "Edd!"

"Tom, stop being so rude! I told you last week," Tom blinked slowly. He remembered Edd saying he needed to tell him something, but he had said it through a mouthful of cereal, and he hadn't been able to make a single word out of it. Tom opened his mouth to say something, but Tord cut him off, now standing before their wall of memorabilia that they had gathered over the past few years. 

"Wow, you guys sure had lots of adventures while I was away. I wish I could have been there." Edd frowned slightly, and Tom knew that look. He groaned inwardly as his friend brightened up.

"Hey! I have an idea!" Tord looked over at Edd.

"What?"

"Let's go on all of our adventures again!" 

Tom looked over at Edd with a dumbfounded expression. "Edd, you can't be seri-" He cut himself off when he saw Edd already putting a fishbowl over his head.

"What?" he asked from inside it. Tom sighed heavily and even though he appreciated the look of apology _____ gave him, he knew that it was going to be a very, very long day.

**********

It certainly was. 

It began with their adventure under the sea, so Tom had the lovely opportunity to, once again, be flushed down a toilet and shot into the ocean, landing rather harshly on the ocean floor. To his complete embarrassment, _____ was next to go and landed on top of him. He barely had time to register this, though, before Tord came down and made quick work of pulling _____ along away from him. He went along with it, though, because he didn't want to be that person, even if he was sure that if he had eyes they would have already burned away from how he was glaring at Tord's back. 

Then they went on to the Space Cats movie. Luckily, that was mostly uneventful with the exception of Tord deciding to throw the cats used, which certainly made _____ unhappy as they attempted to catch each one. Watching this made him unaware that Tord threw one at his face until it landed on his head, claws first. Matt recorded the whole thing and to Tom's dismay, the video was put online for all to see.

Being inside the once destroyed spaceship was definitely a sore spot for Tom, but each time _____ looked at him he made sure to put a smile on his face, but fuck it was hard. He wasn't the kind of person to hide how he was feeling. He didn't know why he felt the need to do this. He didn't realize how awful he looked, though, until _____ pulled him aside while they were supposed to be getting their spacesuits on. "Tom, are you okay?" they asked, looking thoroughly concerned.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Tom asked, trying to sound cheerful, _____ didn't look convinced.

"Because you look like you could crumble in on yourself, and I don't blame you." they sighed lightly, tugging the suit on. "Listen, you don't have to be cheerful this whole time, we'll be finished with this soon enough, I'm sure."

Tom sighed heavily, his shoulders dropping, "Then he wants to move back in, which I am not okay with... but Edd and Matt are, and they're my friends." He meant to say more but stopped when _____ took his hand in theirs. 

"And you're tearing yourself apart." They sighed. "I think I heard Edd say after this we'll head back home, then we can relax," they smiled gently at him. "And you can take care of yourself, I care about you, Tom, please," Tom couldn't say anything to that, but he nodded as he felt his cheeks heat up. They smiled and moved to finish fastening their suit. 

"Hey, _____!" Tord ran up to both of them with a cheerful expression. "I was going to ask Edd and Matt, but they're already all suited up, but would you like to stay with me and help me sort out the controls while Edd, Matt, and Tom have fun going out in space?" Tord smiled sheepishly then. "I'd like to, but I'm nervous, and I want to spend some time in here." _____ paused, but they smiled and nodded before turning to Tom.

"Would you be alright with that?" they asked. Tord's expression flinched when they turned away, and Tom only barely caught it. He narrowed his eyes slightly, but he nodded.

"Yeah, of course," he said offering a smile to them, "You can contact us at any time so just let us know if you need any help or answers," he assured. He was going to try to have some fun, even if he was worried. This should be a more enjoyable experience since they weren't in mortal danger. They nodded and undid the fastens to the suit, getting out of it. Tom finished fastening his own and went over to join Edd and Matt. _____ showed Tord where the button was to send them all out into space and offered to let him press it, which he did pretty happily. The rush of being dropped into space sent Tom's mind reeling a bit, but it wasn't too bad. He allowed his stomach to settle as he enjoyed the vast beauty of space. Then he winced as it got a bit harder to breathe for a second, and he turned his head to the air tube and he saw a little fish with... with fangs, jump out at him and he screamed, all of which went mostly unheard of by his friends.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyyy it's me again!
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER: MENTION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT; PANIC ATTACKS

Edd led them into the house once more after the adventures of the day were finished, he, Tord, and Matt laughing away. 

"Ah, just like old times! I've missed this..." Tord said as his hand twitched a bit, knocking the ash off the end of the cigar he was smoking. Matt put his arm around Tord's shoulders and _____ led Tom in, holding him steady as they walked in. 

"Yeah... Me too..." he muttered bitterly. _____'s mouth was drawn in a thin line, and they were quiet, just as they had been since the three of them returned to the ship, much faster than planned once they saw that Tom was being assaulted by a fanged death fish in his helmet.

"Yeah, it's great having you here Todd-"

"-Tord."

"You're way more fun than Tim!" Matt finished with a grin, snickering as he gestured to Tom.

"Tom." Tom grumbled, more annoyed than anything with that, but it wasn't unlike Matt.

"Well, don't worry, Matt," Tord began with a pleasant grin, "I'm here to stay!" he said as he stepped away from Matt and threw his arms out triumphantly. "You don't suppose I could have my old room back, do you, Edd?" Tord asked as he slowly turned back to face the four of them.

"No!"

"Of course you can!" Edd spoke over Tom's protest.

"But that's MY room!"

"You can... go back to your old room?" Edd suggested with a smile.

"But you turned my old room into a swimming pool!" Tom glared at Edd. Tord smirked as he pulled out another one of the metallic cubes.

"Why don't you sleep on the floor in _____'s room this time? Or would you prefer the sofa?" he asked laughing as he chucked it at Tom after activating it. Tom caught it and he pushed _____ away before it opened up into a couch and crushed him to the floor, again, cutting off his shout. "Hahahah! Classic, stupid Tom!" Tord laughed as he pointed at the couch. Matt joined in the laughter and Tom felt like he was going to explode in anger before the couch was once again hoisted off of him by _____. He accepted their hand once he crawled out of its shadow. He heard Edd's voice echoing Tord's words. 

"Haha, yeah... Classic, stupid Tom." his oldest friend said, and that was the last straw. His anger boiled over as he turned to look at them.

"Tom-!"

Tom could barely hear _____ he was so angry. He stalked over to them and got into Tord's face. "You want my room?! Take it! This place is too crowded anyway!" He turned and stormed from the room, leaving it in silence. Tom stormed through the front door and slammed it shut behind him, shoving his hands in his sweatshirt pockets as he walked down the sidewalk. Through his anger he could hear their neighbors, specifically Edwardo's voice cutting through his thoughts.

"Wow, he looks happy," his sarcastic remark made no difference, honestly. He was done. He was done with Edd and Matt, if they wanted Tord so badly they could have him. And... His steps slowed. _____... Fuck honestly that one thought almost made him turn back around. He paused, his stomach churning painfully. He turned back toward the house and he saw Edd at the window, but then he stepped away and he saw _____ looking out after him, and he could have sworn he saw them talking, but then they were pulled away, and he saw Tord standing there. He closed the curtains and Tom felt his body tense up. He clenched his fists and he stepped forward, but stopped. 

He sighed heavily. _____ was an adult, not a child, and he couldn't keep lashing out and doing shit like this, because honestly he was pretty convinced they didn't even like him. At least, not like he hoped, but at this point, he doubted they liked him at all. He didn't want to make that worse. He turned back around and continued walking. He was on his own.

**********

Searching for a place to live was more tedious than Tom had originally thought. The first place that looked nice that he could afford was listed as spacious, which would be nice. Greeting the owner was pleasant, but then he was shown the room, and not only was it nearly filled with boxes, but it was tiny as hell. The tea the owner brought was nice, though.

The next place was admittedly not his best decision. It was an evil labratory. Ringing the bell greeted him with rather vicious guard dogs.

The next room he toured had him rooming with two women, which, they were quite lovely and the place was lovely. In fact, he was two seconds away from accepting when he realized that his room was directly next to the landing strip of the airport. Which... honestly he wasn't sure how that was legal. 

By the tenth place he visited, he was getting rather ragged, but this house was owned by a lovely looking older woman, and she was very pleasant to- and he was chased out by vicious guard dogs with AXES IN THEIR MOUTHS??

The next place literally fell apart as he knocked on the door. Oh, come on!

He found himself in outer space, his finger extended to ring the bell of the lone building in the vastness of space. The doorbell rang and the door slid open and- HOLY MOTHER OF MOULDY BOWLING BALLS THE DOGS WERE HERE TOO WHAT IN THE EVER LOVING FUCK?!

When he was shown a room that was literally filled with ghosts and other spirits of that nature he wasn't even surprised.

The room where everything was on fire didn't surprise him either.

And neither did the room where the ghosts were on fire. He was a bit confused and concerned about the tenant living there already.

**********

"Ah, my dream house. Everything is going to be fine." Tom sat back on some newspaper he had found, and underneath a cardboard box which he had positioned in an alleyway. He took a shaky breath and he could feel heat rising up behind his eyes, but footsteps approaching him distracted him from the building emotion. He hastily wiped his eyes and lifted his head to see _____ standing in front of him. His eyes widened and he scrambled back. "_____!" he looked around and saw the predicament he was in. "Look, this is just a temporary-" His entire thought process was cut off when _____ dropped to their knees in front of him and enveloped him in a tight hug, their body trembling. "... _____?" he asked quietly, returning the embrace.

"I was so worried about you..." they whispered, their voice shaky as they hugged him tighter. "I... I was going to bring you some things... if you really didn't want to come back, but I couldn't find you anywhere, and asking about you led me... well, here." they pulled back and sniffed, their eyes rimmed red with emotion. "You're living in a... box?" they asked. Tom snapped out of his stupor and he jumped up. 

"What? This? No! No, no, like I said, this was a temporary..." He trailed off seeing the expression on their face. "Okay, I couldn't find a suitable room to rent. Like, anywhere." his shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry you brought stuff when there was no place to bring them to." he grumbled. _____ then stood up and smiled slightly. 

"Well, I may have some things that will aid you," they said as they led Tom out of the alley. Next to the entrance of the alley, he saw Susan leaned gently against the wall of the building there. 

"Susan!" he gasped as he picked her up and hugged her to his chest. He heard _____'s chuckle and he turned with a grin to them. They then pulled their bag in front of them and hoisted out Tom's rather large and heavy piggy bank. 

"I believe this will help as well?" They offered. Tom took it with a grin.

"Thank you! You didn't have to do all of this," he said, feeling incredibly grateful for everything they had done for him. 

They simply smiled in response before speaking. "Come on, I know you, and I know you have enough money to get a down payment on a place at least, let's get you something you can live in." they took his hand and began walking with him down the sidewalk, and he followed, feeling dumbstruck at how incredible _____ was, especially with everything they were doing now. 

They walked for a few minutes exchanging small talk, and when there was a lull Tom spoke up. "Hey, _____, I've been meaning to ask- well, I was going to before I left, at least, but... did something happen?" He looked over and saw the drawn expression on their face. He felt the same churning in his stomach from before, "_____?"

"Oh, we're here!" they said quickly, looking up at the large building before them, where Tom would be able to hopefully get a place to live with the money he had then. He looked at them curiously, worriedly now, but nodded. He didn't want to force them to say anything if they didn't want to. They walked inside the building and, while _____ waited in the lobby of the building, Tom was led into one of the offices just off of the lobby. 

"One house please!" Tom grinned as he sat before the older man on the other side of the desk.

"Sure thing, what kind of hou-" Tom cut him off by presenting a drawing he had done right after he had settled in the cardboard box. It was a drawing of a lovely castle, with himself as the king, of course, and others suffering around him while he relaxed in luxury. "Okay..." the man began, "how much money are you-" Tom presented the rather large piggy bank, a wide grin on his face. "Um..." the man took the piggy bank and pulled out a hammer, breaking it open to reveal another piggy bank. He looked over at Tom, who was still grinning. The man broke the second bank and was presented with a third, even smaller bank inside. Tom was still grinning widely. The man then broke that one and there was a bank three times the size of the first inside that one, undoubtedly breaking the laws of physics. The man looked at Tom with a perplexed expression but was met with the same grin. He hesitantly broke open that one, and finally, quite a bit of cash was inside that one.

Tom raised his eyebrows to the real estate agent with a wider grin. He knew that this was going to be good for him.

**********

He walked out with _____, twirling the keys to his new place around his finger. "This is great!" They said as they held Susan for Tom while they walked. 

"Yeah, I think this'll be a good change for me," Tom chuckled and he turned to look at _____ once more. He took a breath. "Listen, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but I want to let you know that I'm here for you, really," he said, slowing hs walk a bit, and they did the same, their head lowering. 

"It... it's alright," they laughed shakily, and he saw their grip tighten on Susan, "Really it's..." they took a labored breath and stopped walking. Tom stopped as well and put his keys in his pocket as he turned to face them. Their hands were clenching and unclenching, and their eyes were slightly unfocused as their lips pressed tightly together. Fuck. He gently reached forward and took their forearms in his hands.

"Shh, it's okay, let's sit, yeah?" he asked as he guided them to sit down on the sidewalk. Normally he would have gotten them someplace private, but this one seemed pretty bad so he didn't want to make it worse by trying to find a spot. He carefully pried Susan from their grip, and their hands immediately grabbed Tom's sweatshirt sleeve. "Yeah, fiddle with that, that's fine," he spoke softly as he pulled them closer. "Is it okay to sit here?" he asked. They nodded, trying to keep quiet as they pulled in another breath. "Okay, now, let's try and control that breathing then, alright?" he asked. His heart was thudding in his chest. He'd dealt with their attacks before, he'd been the only one they trusted to help them with, honestly, but it had been a while since the last one that was this bad. But, he was still able to move through the process just as easily as he had before. 

He began with the breathing exercises, holding them close to his side and trying to get them to match with his own breathing. To be honest this helped his own anxieties as well and it helped calm him beyond the immediate protective reaction did. He then moved through the grounding techniques, just to make sure they were fully out of it once they had gotten their breathing under control. The whole process probably took around an hour, but it had moved so quickly Tom barely realized so much time had passed. When they finally felt okay and confirmed they were okay to speak, they opened their mouth and Tom held up a finger. "Wait," he said, and they looked at him curiously. "If you're going to apologize, then know that you don't need to," he said with a smile, and then laughed at their pout. Once he finished, his expression turned more serious. "You don't need to talk about it, especially not if it did this," Tom said, even if the very words made him anxious again. Something happened. Something bad enough to bring on an immediate panic attack, and he wasn't able to do anything about it until now, but fuck he didn't want to make _____ talk if they didn't want to.

They shook their head and took a breath before speaking. "No, I... I want to." they bit their lip. "It's... thinking about it now, it's not really something worth panicking over..." they said softly, lowering their head. 

Tom frowned and cupped their cheek, lifting their head. "Hey, it's worth it if you panicked over it. Don't put yourself down about this, especially not this," he said firmly. They nodded, still clenching Tom's sleeve, though he hardly noticed. 

"He... Tord tried to... make a pass at me," they said quietly, looking pained with every word, "and he was... very insistent on the matter," Tom tried not to blow up, tried not to show how utterly, unbelievably, nuclear he was right then. He kept his jaw clenched and let them continue talking. "I told him I wasn't interested, tried to steer the conversation, but he... he kept pushing, and pushing, and he grabbed me, and wouldn't stop, wouldn't let me pull you three back up into the spaceship until I..." they curled in on themself and Tom tightened his hold on them, even though he was very nearly trembling with rage, "until I kissed him..." they whispered. Tom took a shaky breath of his own, containing the rage building inside of him. _____ needed him right then, and there was no time for whatever he was going to do to Tord later. He hugged them close to his side.

"You don't have to live there, if you don't want to," Tom said, the words out of his mouth before he realized. 

They looked up at him their eyes still red from the tears they had shed. "What?" they asked.

"Come live with me. The place I got is big enough, and you'll have your own space, and you won't have to be in there since they seem so damn insistent on keeping Tord there." Tom couldn't keep the snarl from his voice at having to speak his name. They blinked silently, their mouth falling open. Fuck. Did he step too far?

"You're... you're sure it's not too much trouble?" they asked after a moment. Tom smiled then and he carefully helped _____ to their feet as he stood as well.

"Of course I'm sure," he began walking with them once more, "I promise you, you're-" he paused when he looked forward and he saw a poster with an unfortunately familiar face on it. "Wanted."


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a while since Tom had run so much, and honestly, it was worth the burning in his legs for this monstrous, and actually unexpected, turn of events. He could hear _____'s footsteps close beside him. They arrived at the house quickly, the wanted poster clutched in Tom's hand. Tom took the charge in this case, quickly opening the door and racing down the hall. He knew which room Tord would be in. He kicked the door in and Tord jumped from his place at a control panel in the completely transformed room. It was now a bunker full of weapons, nuclear barrels, and other machinery that just looked incredibly dangerous. 

"Ah! Tom! _____! What are you doing here?" Tord asked quickly.

"I was going to ask you the same thing!" Tom snarled as he stepped forward, holding up the wanted poster. "Why are you here?!"

"Okay, you got me," Tord sighed stepping back and holding his arms up, "I only came back to get something I left behind..."

"Left behind what?!" Tom asked, not unaware of the way Tord was moving toward the large red button in the middle of the room.

"This," Tord smirked as he pressed the button and warning sirens began going off. Tom quickly got _____ behind him as a panel in the ceiling opened up and a square device began lowering down from the ceiling, coming to a stop just above Tord's head. The device opened and... Tord's old helmet landed on his head, fitting perfectly still. "My hat!" Tord said happily as he grinned at both Tom and _____. Just that grin made Tom's blood boil a bit more. "Why? What did you think I was going to do?" Tord asked. 

"Are you kidding me?!" Tom asked, just not giving a shit anymore. "You do what you did, we find out you're a wanted man, and you just bloody smile at us?!" Tord's eyes narrowed and he smirked.

"Listen, that wasn't part of my plan at first," He said nonchalantly as he fixed his hat. "But I mean, hey, it wasn't that big of a deal, the way they were practically throwing themself at me, right?" he smirked, and Tom thought he was going to explode. "And as for the hat, well, it goes great with my giant robot." Tom's eyes widened as Tord hit the button again and a tube shot down and surrounded Tord. He grinned sinisterly as he dropped through the floor. Tom ran over and looked down the hole, but decided against it and instead ran from the room into the living room after hearing a commotion outside. _____ followed him out and his head snapped over to the window when he heard _____'s sharp gasp. Right outside was the giant robot, and it lifted a giant machine gun arm toward the house.

"Holy F- RUN!" He grabbed their arm as the gun started shooting and he raced through the house, just barely missing the shower of bullets absolutely wrecking the walls. There was an explosion outside and Tom jolted. "Shit!" he hissed, and he turned quickly when _____ cried out in pain. They ripped their hand from his to grab their now bleeding arm and he grabbed them into his arms, racing to get outside of the house.

Tom carried _____ to the front of the house and he spotted one of those cubes Tord had brought, growling, he grabbed one. Once they got outside, Tord was just finishing his proclamation before Edd and Matt. "What would I need friends for when I've got this?! I'm unstoppable!! HAHAHAHA!" His laughter rang through Tom's ears and he growled.

"HEY! SUNSHINE LOLLIPOPS!" Tom shouted, gaining Tord's attention from inside the giant robot. "TAKE A SEAT!" Tom activated the cube and chucked it at the giant robot, but unfortunately, it just bounced off of the robot's chest.

"OH! SHUT UP!" Tord snarled as one of the arms turned into a rocket launcher and he turned it toward the house.

"TORD! NO!" Edd shouted over the beeping of the launcher before it shot off. Tom's eyes widened and he looked at _____ before grabbing them. 

"EDD!" He called, getting his friend's attention, and _____'s as well. "Take care of them for me!" He lowered his head as the rocket fired. "I love you," He could see the words registering in _____'s mind before he lifted them and, with a grunt, threw them away from the house. 

"TOM!" _____ shouted, and the last thing Tom saw was their outstretched hand, their body straining against Edd's grasp and his friend's stunned face before the rocket hit the house and it exploded.

"TOM!!!"

**********

"NOOO!" _____'s voice rang out just over Matt's as they dropped to their knees, their bloodied arm now forgotten as they stared at the rubble before them. Matt was crying over, well, everything lost, and all they could do was stare in shock, tears slipping down their cheeks.

"TOM!" Their head snapped over at Edd's cry, and to their horror they saw a crumpled figure wearing a blue sweatshirt. _____ felt their entire world stop before them as they sat there, staring at the figure before them.

"Ah! What a sight! Hahaha! Well, I got what I came for!" Wings and rockets emerged from the back of the robot and it took off into the sky. "Goodbye Edd! World's not going to take over itself!" Tord laughed as he took off, but then one of the robot's arms reeled back and punched itself in the head. "OUCH! What the-?!" the other arm punched itself this time. "ARGHH! What's wrong with this thing?!" _____ looked over and saw Matt standing by the certainly beaten up, but still functional, apparently, control panel for the robot.

"This is for my house!" another punch from the robot, "This is for my friends!" another punch. "And this, IS FOR MY FACE!!" Matt screamed as he began rapidly pressing buttons, causing the robot to spazz in the air as it continuously punched itself.

"HEY! STOP THAT!" Tord's voice echoed through the air as the robot began beating itself up. Then Edd stepped up to the panel.

"May I join in?" Edd asked.

"NO! NO HE MAY NOT JOIN IN!"

"Be my guest," Matt grinned and the two of them began rapidly pressing buttons on the control panel.

"Jon? JON?!" _____ saw Eduardo racing over to the crumpled figure, lifting him up and they all saw that it was indeed Jon that had been laying there. "SPEAK TO ME, BUDDY!! SAY SOMETHING!! SAY SOMETHING, YOU IDIOT!!" Eduardo shouted, his eyes teary as he desperately spoke to Jon. _____ scrambled forward as Jon opened his eyes and looked up at Eduardo.

"Heh... something... hehe..." His voice trailed as he went limp in Eduardo's arms. Eduardo fell over his body in tears. 

"Wait... if that's Jon, where's-"

_____ was cut off by a laser shooting down at Edd and Matt, which stopped the control panel, they assumed, because neither of them seemed injured.

"Ha! So long, old friends!" Tord shouted before he went to fly off once more. Then there was a clattering as some of the rubble shifted from the house and fell as Tom rose from the rubble, toting a large harpoon gun as he angrily turned toward the sky.

"I AM NOT *YOUR* FRIEND!" Tom shouted as he shot the harpoon and it speared right through the robot. The machinery trembled before it exploded in a shock of fire and light.

"YEAH! GOOD RIDDANCE!" Eduardo shouted from his place, still holding Jon's body.

"I told you that harpoon gun would be useful," Tom chuckled as the robot fell from the sky. Then he was tackled to the ground with a painful grunt by _____. "Ow! Fuck! _____, careful, hold on--"

"I love you too!!" _____ sobbed into his shoulder, clutching him with their good arm. Tom froze in shock, but then wrapped his own good arm around them tightly, burying his face into their hair. Tom then looked up and he smiled upon seeing Edd and Matt standing in front of them both. They helped them up and got them away from the destroyed house.

"I guess we'll need a new house," Edd sighed looking back at the rubble once more.

"Well, actually, I did find a place," Tom began as ambulances began pulling up to the destruction, paramedics jumping out so they could help the injured parties. 

Tom told the two about the place he had gotten, and while they were getting patched up, _____ was able to speak with Edd and Matt about what had happened. Even though Tord was gone now, Tom knew they felt guilty not telling both of them, and it would make sure there was no hidden information. Both of them felt incredibly guilty about the things they had missed and said. 

In the end, changes had to be made, as clearly they couldn't go on like they did previously, that change would need to wait at least until they were properly bandaged and checked out, though.


	7. Chapter 7

"Here's the last box of things we got from the house," Edd said as he turned toward Tom.

"Thanks, ah, put it with the rest," Tom said smiling sheepishly as he pointed toward the pile of ash in the corner. _____ chuckled slightly and put their hand on Tom's shoulder, squeezing it gently. Tom honestly wasn't sure why they had decided to do that, but their friends were certainly very sentimental, absolutely nothing like him, nothing at all. He happily glued on one of the chipped pieces of Susan back where it went before.

"Lucky you bought this place when you did," Edd said looking around the place.

"Yeah," Tom chuckled. "Shame it's smaller, though, the picture made it look a lot bigger." he said holding up the picture of the apartment with drawn in people. 

Edd shrugged, "Eh, my place isn't much bigger. Matt just finished redecorating his." he chuckled, "Well, are you both settling in alright?" he asked. _____ nodded and smiled down at Tom from where they stood. 

"Yes, we're doing alright, the place fits us perfectly," they chuckled and moved to sit next to Tom. Edd smiled and he nodded, pulling a can of coke from his sweatshirt pocket. How did he keep doing that? 

"Well, I guess it's time for me to go," Edd said with a dramatic sigh as he opened the coke can.

"But you just got here," Tom said raising an eyebrow.

"I'm gonna miss this old place..." Edd said moving closer to the door to leave.

"This is the first time you've ever been here," _____ said, mimicking Tom's expression now.

"Ahh! Yep, a whole lot of memories," Edd said now from in the open doorway. Tom then smiled warmly at their friend.

"See you around, Edd," he said, and _____ nodded as they took his hand, squeezing it slightly.

"See you, Tom, _____," Edd said with a smile before he shut the door. _____ chuckled lightly once the door was shut and they turned to Tom. 

"How long do you think it'll be before he stops treating this place like we're all super far apart?" they asked. Tom laughed lightly and shrugged. 

"Not sure, honestly, but, I have to say, I'm glad that we're finally moved in," he said as he looked around, and looked at _____. They smiled warmly.

"I am too," they said as they leaned forward, kissing his cheek while their hold on his hand tightened. He returned it and turned his head to-

BZZT BZZT

Both turned their heads to look at the phone on the table, Tom's. There was a text from Matt, asking if they wanted to join him and Edd for a watching of Insane Zombie Pirates 5. _____ laughed lightly as Tom picked up the phone, grumbling slightly. "Did you want to join them?" he asked. 

"Of course, you know they'll pester us if we don't," they chuckled lightly as they kissed his cheek. They moved to get up and Tom grabbed their hand, pulling them back to kiss them gently. He inwardly smiled at the sharp inhale of surprise, but it was soon replaced with a soft hum as they sank into the kiss. Oh, he could definitely get used to this. They pulled away after a moment and took a breath before smiling warmly at him. 

"You sure you want to watch the movie with them?" Tom asked with a smirk. _____ laughed harder then, a flush on their cheeks. "Just kidding," Tom smiled, genuinely, "I know you love that movie," he lowered his head to type out his reply to the two and absently heard their footsteps moving behind him. He went to lift his head and shuddered when their arms slid over his shoulders and he felt their lips press against his neck. Oh, oh~ Okay~ He turned his head and captured their lips with his own, reaching to run his fingers through their short hair, but then they pulled back with a wide grin. 

"After the movie~" they winked at him and he blinked in shock, but then smirked devilishly. 

"Oh, I'll get you back for that!" he got up quickly and they laughed as they ran toward the door and he caught up quickly, wrapping his arms around their waist and hoisting them up easily, laughing along with them. "You're damn lucky I already replied to them," he chuckled once they caught their breath and he lowered them to the ground, peppering kisses over their shoulder. "Come on," he said, squeezing them gently before letting them go and offering his hand to them. ____ happily took his hand and walked out of the apartment with him. Tom smiled dreamily at them as they walked the length of the space between theirs and Matt's apartment. He was smitten, just as he had always been. 

Even as they opened the door, he felt the urge to pull his hand away, pretend that he didn't feel anything, just as he had pretended many times before, and just to protect his pride? Damn, he was an idiot. Both of them were welcomed inside and he only held _____'s hand a little tighter as they walked inside and both Matt and Edd were already set up with a large bowl of popcorn. Tom sat down next to Edd on the couch, and _____ slid onto the couch next to him, pressing against his side. He wasn't quite sure what he could do then, but _____ took over, moving his arm and wrapping it around their shoulders. He relaxed then, squeezing their shoulder. The movie began and he relaxed. The popcorn was shared and they watched the movie with laughter. This time it was just like old times, but a little better now, and he wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
